Heroes of Other Stories
by Rottenwraith
Summary: A world is often a very large thing with numerous people running around, each with their own stories. Companion piece to Reasons to Celebrate. Warning, contains Korrasmi and most likely some Mako bashing. Chapter 2 - Pema
1. Chapter 1

I beginning to regret how much I had to drink last night at the gala, I was anything but some teetotaller who couldn't hold her liquor, but with the early morning at work I had, it was probably a bad idea; case in point, my hangover.

"Chief." luckily it wasn't that bad, so it was easy to resist the thought of putting Saikhan through a wall for increasing the mild pounding in my skull.

"Captain." I was pretty sure he still had some hard feelings from getting pushed down a rank when I got my job back, I couldn't but feel a little guilty about that. I had resigned of my own volition, but when the Equalists manage to take out the entire force in less than hour on your watch, it doesn't look very good on your resume. "Anything important to report?"

"Nothing big, just a hand full of complaints about the new Sato-Equalist school-" the captain's venom towards non-benders was not something I was in the mood for so I cut him off.

"That's 'Chi-blocking Academy' Saikhan, I expect you to remember that and to remain respectful of the council's decisions." I looked the captain dead in the eyes and lowered my voice "Especially those I agree with" I paused for a moment to let that sink in "or you could find a new job with the Triple Threats, I believe they're open your method of thinking. Now if there is anything real that requires the attention of the police please leave it in my office I'm going to get a fresh cup of coffee."

I left the captain to stew as I went to get my morning coffee, which my mild hangover was making all the more alluring. After getting a steaming cup of wake-up juice I made my way back to my office to be greeted by the usual morning reports, seemed the Triple Threats were still trying to pull themselves together; they could take all the time in the world for all I cared. It also seemed that the proliferation of black market Equalist tazer gloves was dropping as word got around about the new insulated armour for the police.

I smiled at the thought of my friend, dear Ms. Sato, I imagined that she was having quite a fun night with Korra, if she could work up the nerve; she deserved some happiness.

Then I came to a certain arrest report and almost laughed out loud, the list of charges on this jerk.

-Drunken disorderly

- Vagrancy

-Disturbing the peace

-Loitering

-Resisting arrest

and my favourite of them all

-Public urination

Currently sleeping off all the booze he'd obviously had last night, I called to Saikhan and told him to tell me when this particular perp woke up in his cell, I wanted to deal with this little acquaintance of mine personally.

The morning dragged on as noon and lunch approached, I used a little time to check the society pages in the paper, they'd covered the break up last night, hopefully Korra could stay out of the firing line; these guys could be pretty vicious. Just as I was about to head to get myself some lunch, Saikhan called out to me, "Hey Chief, that perp you asked about, he's awake, and demanding to see you."

"Well it would be rude to keep him waiting, I'll get right on that, thank you Captain." and with a smirk I set off to the prison cells, looking forward to putting this self-centred jerk in his place. As I got closer I heard him banging on the cell door a bit, I hoped he didn't get the bright idea that he had any authority here.

"Good Morning Mako, sleep well?" I tried not to sound smug as I addressed him through the eye slot in the cell door.

"Lin! It's about time, you have to get me out of here." always assuming he could just demand

"I don't have to do anything for you, you broke the law and now you're in jail. That's how things work in my city." especially for a sizable list of charges, even if they were all minor offences.

"Call Korra, she'll -" I took a bit of perverse pleasure in cutting him off.

"I don't really think your ex can help you here." I fed the paper through the slot, turned to the page with the article and then waited for his reaction.

"Avatar Korra rejects proposal and dumps boyfriend!" ah , that was so satisfying, as he read through the article detailing his being shot down and humiliated and his obvious racial insensitivity; I mean proposing to water tribe girl with a ring, really?

"Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to lunch, don't break the door or 'Destruction of public property' will be added to your list of charges." and with that I closed the eye slot and walked off as Mako started to bang and yell even more. I stopped at the guard to give him a few instructions.

"If he gets too rowdy, feel free to knock him out, warn him first though, only fair after all." and so after reccieving a quick salute and 'yes chief' from the officer on guard duty, I went off to lunch. I could use another cup of coffee to finish off this small hangover, and relish in this major amusement as I did.

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_AN: Okay so here's the first part of my companion piece to Reasons to Celebrate about the characters besides Korra and Asami, and how their little stories interweave with the main one. Please read and review as always._


	2. Chapter 2

**Parental Instinct**

**Any mother of four children probably has some pretty well honed instincts**

**Characters: Pema**

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It was a crisp morning as, for once, I wasn't awoken by the children screaming, hollering and being generally wild. This was something rare and to be savoured, for it would not last. I couldn't help but love the serenity of the early morning on the island; the sun's rays filtering in through the window gently caressing and encouraging-

"Mommy! Mommy! It's morning!"

Yep, would not last, I wonder how I predicted that.

"Mommy, Where's Korra? Did she come back from the party last night? Where's Mako? Did he come back from the party?" Huh? I had to drag myself into a sitting position

"Korra and Mako didn't come back from the party last night?" I asked Ikki sleepily, I had to admit that I was more concerned about Korra than Mako. I tried not to judge but he just grated on my nerves.

"Mommyyyy, that's what I just asked you.." Ikki really didn't like her questions being mirrored back, though at least she'd stopped zooming around the room.

"Sorry sweetie, but I really don't know if Korra made it back last night." I was kind of concerned but I knew that Korra could take care of herself

"Don't worry dear," I looked to other side of the bed to see my awoken husband, sitting up with yawn, "She stayed at Ms. Sato's estate last night." Something had Tenzin, not exactly upset, irked would be the better word.

"Well dear I think it's time we got up and start the day." I told him, getting up with a stretch and a yawn before heading over to the cot housing my beautiful one year old son. He was just starting to stir, probably from his siblings' entrance and seeing his mother reached as far up as he could with a little squirming; not that he needed to encourage anybody to pick him up, cute as he was.

"Good morning Rohan." I gave my most soothing voice as I picked up my youngest child, receiving a squeal of affection. Hugging him to my body I just breathed a deep contentment, I loved these children of mine.

"Hello." I shot my eyes up to see Tenzin standing over me looking down at the same bundle of joy and sporting the same calm smile as myself, not to mention Ikki and Meelo as they climbed on their father's head to get a better look. Jinora took the less intrusive route of standing on her toes next to me. This was a great family we'd built.

"Okay everyone, I think it's time I feed Rohan, you guys head on in to the dining room and I'll be in in a bit to make breakfast." I'd made a vow a long time ago to not abuse the air acolytes for my family's needs.

"Don't worry Pema, I shall prepare breakfast this morning." the entire room froze except for Rohan's giggles, the only thing that could stop Ikki and Meelo in their tracks, other than their adorable baby brother; the prospect of their father's cooking. "What?" Damn, he'd noticed.

"N-nothing dear." I was desperately avoiding eye contact, not wanting to spoil the caring gesture.

"I thought my cooking was improving..." and now he'd figured it out. He wasn't exactly wrong, but 'improving' was a relative term in this case. Still, seeing the slightly crestfallen look in his eyes just got to me.

"You're too kind dear, thank you." taking the one hand I could whilst still holding Rohan, I touched his cheek and manoeuvred him down for a brief kiss, simple sweet and affectionate, and it still made my heart flutter a little even after all these years. Ikki and Meelo gave the classic reaction to their parent's show of affection.

"Ewwww." Jinora on the other hand just chuckled at her younger siblings' reaction. I gave a simple content sigh.

"Alright then, you guys head into the dining room and I'll be in shortly." I watched as my husband and children went to go have their breakfast. Some days I just liked to take in this amazing life I had, and as I sat back down on the bed to tend to my giggling Rohan I just knew it would only get better.

Breakfast was actually quite nice, Tenzin's cooking was becoming better, though Ikki and Meelo were about to make faux hacking noises till I cut them off with a look. They settled down after that, admittedly with a slightly dejected look on their faces.

After breakfast had been finished off and cleaned up, I set Rohan down for a nap and did my morning chores. Had a small read of the paper to catch up on the goings on in the outside world and was quite surprised to find an article about Korra and Mako breaking up after Korra turned down a proposal at the gala last night; I didn't see that coming. Lunch came around before I knew it and I decided to take an awakened Rohan on our usual daily walk around the island; I liked making sure that he knew his home.

He loved playing with the lemurs (which at the moment consisted of him reaching for them and laughing when they chirped and jumped back a little, unsure what to make of him) and staring in awe of the sky bison, letting out his adorable laugh when ever Oogi gave a soft roar of affection.

Before long we came round to the plaza with the air temple's resident Avatar practising her waterbending. The way the light filtered through the floating water as it streamed and danced through the air was a sight to behold and it seemed that Rohan found the demonstration just as pretty as I did, judging from his ecstatic laugh and clapping.

I think Korra noticed, adding a flourish as she split the water into numerous streams that went spiralling up. before shooting back down to stop at a moment's notice and form back into a perfectly even circle. Rohan gave another approving giggle with his joy radiating smile.

"Did you like Korra's waterbending, sweetie? Did you?" I gave my baby boy a tickle to encourage further laughter, which I could just listen to forever. Korra was smiling as well as she walked over still a bit out of breath it would seem.

"Hi Pema, and hello you too Rohan." Korra leaned in to give Rohan a smile, for which she was rewarded with a giggle of affection from the baby. I just loved how babies could manage to find everything hilarious.

"That was an impressive display Korra, you're still as sharp a waterbender as ever." I could still remember years ago when Tenzin and I went to visit the compound and saw Korra final exam for waterbending, she was so proud of herself and rightly so; just then a thought occurred to me, Katara was Rohan's grandmother and she was a waterbender so it was possible...

"Pema, " Korra got my attention and broke my train of thought annoying me a tad, which dissolved instantly when I saw the nervous look on her face "if I told you something personal could you keep it a secret, even from Tenzin?" I didn't like keeping things from my husband, but judging from how nervous Korra, and the fact that Korra looked nervous convinced me she needed this.

"If you really need me to, then yes, yes I can." I mentioned toward the steps so that we could sit down. Korra looked very tense and I felt that I should try to lighten the mood. "So what is this most secret of secrets you want to tell me?" I really hoped I could help with whatever was causing Korra so much distress.

"Well, I guess it's sort of about my love life." I remembered the article from the paper and assumed the obvious.

"Are you regretting turning down Mako?" Korra seemed to blink very hard at the question.

"What? No, that's not it, probably the best decision I ever made was tossing him aside." I couldn't help but feel a little amused at that answer, I was less than fond of Mako. "It's just that I kind of realised that I have feelings for someone else, I think that I have for awhile and just didn't realise till just recently." Oh, I see.

"Oh, a crush, who may I ask is the lucky boy? Is it that earthbender or perhaps one of the younger acolytes?" some of them were close enough to Korra's age and that Bolin boy always had a pleasent upbeat attitude.

"That's the thing, it's..." I leaned in, still holding Rohan. I couldn't figure out who Korra could be talking about and was perhaps a bit eager, Jinora and Ikki were both still too young for this sort of thing.

"Yes..." she looked away, unable to look me in the eye, making me a bit nervous. I was honestly confused as to just what boy could make a girl like Korra so anxious. Korra finally took a gulp before, letting out the name of her troubles.

"Asami." Well... that was unexpected.

I was pretty shocked and took a few moments to collect myself, then I noticed Korra and how tense she was, looking away and as though she was bracing herself for something to attack her. Then I remembered how cold the water tribes could be towards such an attachment, as well as republic city. I carefully paced a hand on her shoulder in an effort to calm her.

"It's okay Korra, you have nothing to fear, " when Korra turned to look at me as I gave a look of sympathy. "And you have no reason to feel ashamed." Despite what the world said, she really didn't.

"But, doesn't this make me-" Oh no, seeing Korra look so lost was painful enough to watch, I was not going to let her insult herself; luckily something had already occurred to me.

"Korra, did you know that the original Air Nomads and, by extension, the Air Acolytes are accepting of all forms of love, regardless of who's involved." I couldn't but feel amused at the situation, helping Korra with some advice I'd gotten from her own past life. "So no matter the views of the water tribe or of Republic City, the people on this island will not judge you in any way, alright?"

"Yeah actually, thanks." I was glad to see Korra with a small smile; she may not be a blood relative but Korra was still a part of the family. I was then a bit saddened as Korra's smile faded with a sigh, I should've seen this coming really. "But that's not the problem is it?" Korra gave a nod as an answer, the real problem was obvious. "You're worried about how she'll react if you tell her, aren't you?"

"Yeah." Korra's pained expression as looked out over the bay gave the impression that she was imagining the worst possible

"It seems you have two options, you could keep how you feel a secret, " I really hoped that she didn't pick that one, It'd be unhealthy "or you could tell her and she'll either accept it and let you down easy or reject you and then you'll know whether or not she's worth the trouble." I'd left out the extremely unlikely third possibility, that Asami could reciprocate her feelings, out; no need to get her hopes up for something so unlikely. I felt a bit bad calling Asami not 'worth the trouble', she hadn't stayed at the temple long when she did, but she had been very nice and helpful; plus Korra could do worse, she had done worse, Mako.

"I guess you're right, not sure which one of those I'm going to do, but still, thanks Pema, this really helped." it was nice to hear Korra being a bit more upbeat, she was usually so strong and confident, seeing her looking so completely lost was just wrong. The atmosphere was also lightened by the bundle of adorable joy in my arms letting out a yawn.

"Looks like it's time to put this little guy down for his nap, and Korra, I'm glad I could help, if you need to talk about this some more later, just ask." Korra gave a nod of acknowledgement, as I left to put Rohan down for his nap.

Later that night as Tenzin and I were getting ready for bed, he brought up that Korra had seemed off to him and his concern "I'm quite certain that something's wrong I just need to figure out what it is." I felt conflicted, on the one hand I didn't want Tenzin finding out about the issue and possibly embarrassing Korra, on the other hand I didn't want to betray Korra's trust; luckily I figured out a third option.

"Dear, don't worry about Korra, I had a talk with her earlier and she'll be fine." I hope. Tenzin raised a bushy eyebrow at that.

"Really? What was bothering her?" I cringed a little, I hated having to keep things from him.

"I'm sorry but I can't tell you ." He was about to ask why when I explained. "It's sort of a private issue to do with women." I tried not to laugh at the little private joke.

"Oh" My husband's eyes bugged out a little, he knew that there were some lines he shouldn't cross.

"Plus I promised that I'd keep it between us."

"All right then, if you're sure that I can't help-" Like myself, Tenzin had always considered Korra a member of the family, I doubt he enjoyed the idea of not being able to guide his pupil.

"Probably not, sorry." I placed a hand on his shoulder to try and assure him that Korra would be fine, I placed my other hand on his neck to manoeuvre him down and capture his lips. There goes the flutter in my heart again.

The next morning as we were all eating breakfast in a pleasant relevant science, Ikki and Meelo had always been just as loud eaters as they were eager eaters. The downside of this was that it was easy for Tenzin to notice Korra's yawn.

"Korra, are you alright? You seem tired." He was always so concerned.

"I'm fine, just had a little trouble sleeping last night." I hope he didn't pry too much, I was also hoping that I wouldn't have to say something.

"Korra, are you sure to don't want to talk about-" Hoping in vain it seemed.

"More tea Tenzin?" His eyes turned to meet mine saying 'don't fret, it's handled' he seemed reluctant, looking back to Korra before meeting my gaze again for confirmation, which he got.

"Yes, please." I noticed a small smile and nod as I poured Tenzin's cup, I responded in kind as discreetly as I could. "Thank you, dear." I don't think the children noticed, I know the Ikki and Meelo didn't notice but Jinora probably did; she was getting pretty perceptive.

After the kids had finished up their food and run off to start the morning's airbending practise, and it was just myself, Korra and Tenzin, the young Avatar started to talk, "Umm, Tenzin," Tenzin gave a small noise of acknowledgement as he started to take a sip of tea, "I was wondering, since there's something I really need to do, if I could take the morning off?"

Oh, so Korra was going to face her fears and tell Asami how she felt, I truly hope that things went well for her and that- was Tenzin choking on his tea?

"What?!" right, Korra had asked for the morning off. "Korra, you know how important it is that you matter airbending, what could be so important that you need to-" remembering how meek and afraid Korra looked yesterday, I knew just how important it was that she face this.

"Dear." Tenzin gaze met mine, just as before, this time a tad harsher, not that anyone would notice. Just as before he looked back to Korra, then back at me, my eyes still conveying the same message; which led him to letting out an exasperated sigh.

"Very well, if it is truly important you may take the morning off, but be sure to add some of your airbending katas to your afternoon training session." he needed something to win.

""Sure, thanks Tenzin, thanks Pema." I almost laughed at the look on Tenzin's face as Korra thanked me, only a small snicker escaped as Tenzin let out another sigh at his increasing lack of control.

"You're sure?" I laid my hand on top of his with a soft smile.

"Yes, dear, I'm sure." he just needed to hear it; my smile then grew into a half-smirk "You'd think that after all these years you'd learn to trust your wife's parental instinct." and we both shared in a soft laugh.

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**Rottenwraith: Wow that was a freaking beast to get done.**

**Pema: What is this exactly?**

**Rottenwraith: An omake, the guys who read my stuff regularly will get it. If they even exist.**

**Pema: Oh don't fret, I'm sure there are plenty of people who enjoy your stories.**

**Rottenwraith: It doesn't feel that way when there are so few reviews.**

**Pema: Come on now, don't get down on yourself.**

**Lin: She's right, you know.**

**Pema: Oh, Lin. You're here.**

**Lin: I didn't get one of these in my chapter and thought I'd show up and say 'Hello'.**

**Rottenwraith: Your right Pema, you know, you really deserve more credit.**

**Pema: Oh, you don't have to say that.**

**Lin: *eye roll*Modest as always.**

**Rottenwraith: Sure I do Pema, I mean what with all the Lin/Tenzin on the site.**

**Pema:...**

**Rottenwraith: Pema?**

**Pema: Excuse me but did you just say 'Lin/Tenzin on the site'?**

**Rottenwraith: Umm, yes.**

**Pema: I see... Lin, a word please.**

**Lin: Yeah, Pema?**

**Rottenwraith: Come on Pema, they're just stories. I should probably start running now. I hope more people leave reviews.**


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